A power drill has become an indispensable tool. Screwdriver bits used on power drills have nearly replaced the use of conventional screwdrivers. Cordless drills offer the maneuverability of the hand-held tool with the consistency and power of a power tool. This all-in-one tool is not convenient however unless all the bits and fittings required for a project are readily available. U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,525 describes a rubber sleeve to go around the handle of a drill that can be used to store spare drill bits. Several drills with mechanized bit feeding systems have been described that make bits readily available (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,604,005 and 4,973,205). Hand-held tools have been described that store bits in their handles (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,526,721, 5,881,615, 6,076,440, and U.S. Patent Application Publication US/2001/0032531 A1). These available bit storage options however often interfere with the handling of the tool or complicate the mechanism of the drill. Others, are configured for hand-tools only and do not offer the power and consistency of a cordless drill. Thus, there remains a need for a simple, convenient storage system for drill bits that makes the bits readily accessible to the drill user.
All patents, patent applications, provisional patent applications and publications referred to or cited herein, or from which a claim for benefit of priority has been made, are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of the specification.
The subject invention involves a drill bit holder that is designed for use on a power drill. The holder, at one end, has a connector shaft for insertion into the chuck of a drill. At the other end, a bit receiving channel can operably receive, both locking and non-locking bits. A bit storage casing stores and holds bits which are currently not in use. The bit storage holder of the subject invention operably engages a power drill. Thus, any bit that may be needed during the course of a job is readily available to the user.
In a preferred embodiment of the bit holder of the subject invention the connector shaft and bit receiving channel are integral with and along a central shank. The subject configuration is particularly strong. Further, the bit storage casing is designed to rotate independently of the shank which advantageously provides a grip for a user to stabilize the drill while it is in use as well as allows for convenient selection of drill bits from the casing while the holder is mounted on the drill.